Sandboxing 101 PART 3: Dressing Rooms, Discounts + Our "List" Lowdown

We have arrived at the last installment of our "everything Sandbox" series — thank you for following along! These are the final “must-know” details for making the most of your Sandbox experience. :)

How We “Do” Dressing Rooms

This is one of the most important aspects of the Sandboxing series.

Our dressing rooms are smack dab in the middle of our store. This is really where we ALWAYS are when we’re assisting customers.

If you ever arrive at our store and don't see anyone immediately, we are more than likely by the dressing rooms. Just walk to left if you need assistance right away, or to the cash desk — we can usually see you from there as well.

We try to work one on one with you at the dressing rooms so that you have our undivided attention. Even if you don't need "help", we are there to run for a different size, colour or style if needed so you don't have to. On busier days or when we have less staff, you may find us working with several people.

If you are wanting major style advice and revamping, please tell us (in advance is great)! We’ll set you up with a stylist that we feel best suits your needs. They’ll ask you a series of questions to gain an understanding of your lifestyle and the direction you want to take. It may seem overwhelming at first, but we can help you better if we know a little more about you! If you need a complete overhaul, we’ll likely start with some great basics and build from there.

Every stylist has their own way of achieving the best results and will instruct you and ask more questions as you go along. We usually start with just a few items to get an idea of your size and shape, and we ask you to come out so that we can "see" how they fit. This is the only way that we can then choose proper fitting items, colours, etc.

More often than not we will choose the bottoms first, because that will the determine the fit and length of the tops to pair with them. If you already have the bottoms or tops in your wardrobe that you want to match with something, please bring them along! The same holds true if you can only wear certain shoes, (due to foot problems or otherwise). Bring them along, as that will be a crucial factor in choosing a pant or skirt.

Lastly, please give the items that we bring to you a try even if on first glance you might not like them. That is the beauty of having someone work with you — we already have the insight for choosing items that have zero hanger appeal, but have awesome body appeal! (Trust us.)

In a nutshell, we will assist you one on one when you arrive at the dressing rooms and begin to try on clothing. With our process, pulling a ton of items for you before you even get there doesn’t make sense — that’s why we start with a few and build from there. One step at a time.

Our Store Policies: Discounts, returns, holds and more!

Many store policies seem pretty straight forward, but in actuality we have given a lot of thought to everything we implement. Although we try our best to make everyone happy with the decisions we make, sometimes it is just not feasible or realistic from a business perspective.

For example, we rarely give discounts on new seasonal merchandise — even if you spend a considerable amount of money. Why? Because this is how we pay our bills. We pay for staff wages, rent, utilities, shipping, store supplies, window cleaning, donations, travel to buying shows, etc. We price our merchandise at a fair value, as do not believe in price gouging people.

Once we get to the point where we are discounting items by 30%, we are pretty much at a break even mark because of all of the expenses attached to running a brick and mortar store (with a staff that gets paid a living wage plus benefits). Once we hit the 40-50% discount mark we are losing money on most products.

When you are a smaller business, you don't have the bargaining power to order large quantities of product at discounted prices, such as Costco or a clothing chain store. Those companies rely on high volume sales to make their profits. We rely on good quality clothing brands, great selection, solid advice, excellent customer service, and fair value for products to keep our customers coming back. So if you are ever at the till and ask if there is a deal on buying multiple regular priced items, the answer will more than likely be "no".

Our Return Policy:

*10 days for a FULL refund on regular prices items, no strings attached. A lot of thought has gone into this policy! We feel 10 days is a fair amount of time for our customers to make a decision, with the flexibility of getting their money back if it doesn't work. (We also know what we like as customers in other business's return policies, and that is to get OUR money back!) We don’t offer a lengthier time frame because the longer merchandise is out of the store, the shorter the window we have to sell it again at full price in season.

*Spanx, earrings, underwear, etc are a FINAL SALE unless we have made special arrangements with you. (If that is the case it will be typed directly onto your bill.)

*All SALE items are FINAL, again unless we have made an exception (also written on your bill). We do not offer store credits or exchanges after 10 days, so make sure you like it, as it is now YOURS.

*With items purchased for Christmas gifts, the usual return policy applies if it is returned within the 10 days window of purchase. Otherwise you will have 10 days after Christmas for an EXCHANGE only.

Holds Policy:

Our HOLDS policy is a NO HOLDS policy. Unless we have made a special arrangement with you, we do not hold. The reason is simple: we don't want merchandise that is still available for purchase to be off the sales floor. If the size we need at the dressing room is on hold and not paid for, we have missed an opportunity to sell it to someone who wants to buy it now. That's it!

Special Orders:

When we order an item of a specific size and colour for a customer, it is a guaranteed sale. This means that we will take the customer’s credit card number and keep it on file until the item comes, then as soon as it arrives the customer is called and credit card is charged.

We do this because sometimes it may not be a size or colour that we would normally order in that style. We are ordering it ONLY at the request of the customer. Similar to when you mix up a custom paint at a store — you cannot return it as it would take a very specific person to want that kind of paint in that particular color in order to sell it. If it doesn’t sell by the end of the season, we are losing money on it. The only exception would be if it is an item that we always carry and we're simply missing your size — then we’ll just call you to come and try it when it arrives.

Making a Purchase:

We ask for your phone number and name when you are making a purchase. Why? Well, for a few reasons.

The main one is so that we can keep track of the items you have purchased every time you shop with us. There is a wealth of information that can be gathered when we’re able to check back over the list of items on your account. It is very helpful to be able to see which styles are already in your closet so that we can mix and match with new items and not duplicate similar pieces. So not only does it save you money and time, it makes our job of choosing that much more efficient!

This system also tracks your size, so if you need to replace a basic, we know what size to pick even if you are not sure. This account also makes gift giving easier for your loved ones. If we already know what you like, we can assist them by making suggestions based on your previous purchases. Lastly, if you lose your receipt and wish to return something, we can look it up under your phone number and reprint it for you.

After we ask you for that information, we’ll ask if you would like to receive our bi weekly emails.

The reasons we send out emails (and why it benefits you to sign up for these lists) are:

*We solve wardrobe problems through our emails by offering and educating our customers on products that WORK. When we say we LOVE something, we really do, because we have tried it and tested it.

*We feature everyday people in our posts. Yes they look good, but they are staff members, not professional models, so our readers can relate to them!

*We offer ideas on how to style items that you may not have thought of. These tips can be used for existing pieces in your wardrobe as well as those from The Sandbox!

You are the first to know when we have an upcoming sale, so you get first choice. In fact some promotions are ONLY for email subscribers, such as our additional 50% off sales. (If you sign up, get the deal, and then unsubscribe, you will no longer be able to subscribe again.) Because we lose so much money on these sales, we reserve those deals for loyal customers that continue to support us year after year. They pay full price the majority of the time, so have earned first notification when sales are starting.

There are two other specific lists you can sign up for as well. One is for Joseph Ribkoff samples and the other is for Sympli the Best fans.

If you sign up for those lists you will be notified first when we get a new batch of Joseph Ribkoff samples, or will be informed of everything new that involves the Sympli brand. Sometimes Sympli promotions are ONLY given to those on the Sympli list as a reward for supporting that brand. In closing, being on the email list is worth it.

Well that wraps up our Sandboxing 101 Series! Hopefully we have answered any questions you may have had about how (and why) things work at the store. Stop in to see us soon on Broadway and Main!